Worshipping the Foot Divine or How Foot Fetish Fared In Ancient Times
Some people are wont to believe that foot fetish is a product of modern sexual liberation. A study of history, however, will tell you that the foot has always been as much part of human sexuality as the penis (the phallus or lingam in Sanskrit) or the vagina (yoni in Sanskrit).The foot has historically been considered erotic, which is understandable. After all, the foot has thousands of nerve endings that can give you the greatest pleasure. At other times, the sexual symbolism is related to the foot’s contact with the earth, something that ancient societies associated with fertility. In some societies, the foot was considered a phallic symbol.
SMALL FOOT VS BIG FOOT
Whether you are talking about ancient societies in the east or the west, there was a greater preference for the small foot. Big foot represented a malformed appendage that is totally devoid of use, charm, and sex appeal.
No society ever indicated such a strong preference for small feet as much as the Chinese did. Painful though it was, the ancient practice of foot binding was meant for the ultimate pleasure, that is, to make the foot look like a vagina and also to ensure that the muscles of the vagina remained tight through the small steps induced by the practice.
Early Christian societies also indicated a strong preference for small feet. In classic art, the foot was depicted as small and delicate, but strong enough to bear weight.
Christianity’s “de-sexualization” of the human body, at the time when it was considered tasteless to paint the penis or the vagina, meant that the foot was made the marker to distinguish the sexes (the fig leaf certainly did not help). Women in paintings were depicted with small and curved feet while the men were depicted with larger feet, although with the same characteristics as the women. The angels, being perfect beings, were depicted with wings feet to hide the feet.
In the Middle Ages, flat footed people were considered ugly and evil, since ugliness and wickedness were considered inseparable. Old superstitions and old wives considered flat feet as a bad omen.
FOOT EROTICA
Ancient Eastern societies were far less prudish in depicting foot fetishes in their art.
Look in libraries containing books on erotica and you will see illustrations of foot fetish as an erotic practice. The behavior depicted in ancient Eastern art would, surprisingly, make you blush even if you are a foot fetishist. You have to remember though that it was normal behavior at the time.
FOOT IN SHOES
Interest in the foot and its related fetish, the shoes, were popular in the Middle Ages. While there was lingering interest in women’s feet, the male courtiers at that time wore long and pointed shoes. The phallic connotation of the long pointed shoes did not miss the attention of the church, and some popes even attempted to ban them. At their height, the long and pointed shoes extended 24 inches beyond the feet.
The fashion (and phallic statement) eventually died after an Austrian archduke could not escape assassination because of his long and pointed shoes.